![The Lady of the Rivers - Paperback | Diverse Reads](http://diversereads.com/cdn/shop/files/img_ad00fdaf-7815-4ae1-9e7e-e672fbec3de8_264x400.jpg?v=1710851327)
The Lady of the Rivers
- Description
- Product Details
- About the Author
- Reading Group Guide
When the young and beautiful Jacquetta is married to the older Duke of Bedford, English regent of France, he introduces her to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy. Her only friend in the great household is the duke’s squire Richard Woodville, who is at her side when the duke’s death leaves her a wealthy young widow. The two become lovers and marry in secret, returning to England to serve at the court of the young King Henry VI, where Jacquetta becomes a close and loyal friend to his new queen.
The Woodvilles soon achieve a place at the very heart of the Lancaster court, though Jacquetta has visions of the growing threat from the people of England and the danger of their royal York rivals. Jacquetta fights for her king and queen, as she sees an extraordinary and unexpected future for her daughter Elizabeth: a change of fortune, the white rose of York, and the throne of England…
ISBN-13: 9781416563716
Media Type: Paperback
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: 04-03-2012
Pages: 480
Product Dimensions: 5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.00(d)
Series: Plantagenet and Tudor Novels
Philippa Gregory is the author of many New York Times bestselling novels, including The Other Boleyn Girl, and is a recognized authority on women’s history. Many of her works have been adapted for the screen including The Other Boleyn Girl. She graduated from the University of Sussex and received a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, where she is a Regent. She holds honorary degrees from Teesside University and the University of Sussex. She is a fellow of the Universities of Sussex and Cardiff and was awarded the 2016 Harrogate Festival Award for Contribution to Historical Fiction. She is an honorary research fellow at Birkbeck, University of London. She was awarded a CBE title for services to literature and charity in 2022. She welcomes visitors to her website PhilippaGregory.com.
This reading group guide for The Lady of the Rivers includes an introduction, discussion questions, ideas for enhancing your book club, and a Q&A with author Phillipa Gregory. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.Reading Group Guide
INTRODUCTION
The life of Jacquetta is extraordinary. She is born into the St Pol family, the rulers of the Duchy of Luxembourg, and witnesses the fate of Joan of Arc while still a girl. Married as a matter of policy to the great Duke of Bedford, it is only when she is a young widow that she can begin to shape her own destiny. Though she has the Sight, at once a blessing and a burden, she still has to navigate the waters of the English court and attempt to build a stable future for her growing family in a time of great change and increasing danger. Her longed-for marriage to Richard Woodville is a deep and abiding love match but comes at a great cost, and their rise in the world is followed by yet further twists in fortune. Yet Jacquetta Woodville, Lady Rivers, is a unique and powerful character and one who manages to place her family in a key position to survive the forthcoming wars.
TOPICS AND QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
ENHANCE YOUR BOOK CLUB
A CONVERSATION WITH PHILIPPA GREGORY
Having written The White Queen and The Red Queen, what inspired you to further explore the story of Jacquetta, a lesser-known historical figure?
I found Jacquetta’s influence on her daughter completely fascinating when I was doing the research for The White Queen. It was hard to track her life as she is only occasionally mentioned in the historical record, but her marriage to the Duke of Bedford marks her entry to the historical records, and her second marriage to Richard Woodville was an international scandal at the time. She seemed to me to be really worthy of her own biography and novel and since no one has yet written her biography I have researched and am publishing an account of her life in a nonfiction book: The Women of the Cousins’ War: The Duchess, the Queen, and the King’s Mother.
As the author of several international bestsellers, you have fans from all over the world. How has the increase in your success and popularity affected your relationship with your fans?
I am conscious that very many people use my book as a starting point for their own studies, that many people want to know more about me and my work and so I maintain my website with regular updates and material, and I am really grateful for their enthusiasm and affection for my work.
The Lady of the Rivers contains several references to the difficulty the women of this time face in a man’s world. Did you find it challenging to research so many instances of women being subjugated, punished, even put to death because they dared to think and act for themselves?
I think the women in this novel, as the women in many of my novels, are the heroines of women today—they are our fore-mothers. Their courage and struggle for their rights is an example and an inspiration to me. I love to write about them and bring their stories to modern men and women.
In “The History Debates” section of your website, you pose the question of the difference between history and historical fiction. You write: “The imagination is where the historians are almost indistinguishable from the novelists.” Can you expand more on this notion?
All historians have to work with their imagination to fill in the gaps in the historical facts, they have to imagine what is happening when we have no way of knowing for sure. Also, most histories consider the character and inner life of their subjects and this is exactly what a historical novelist does. No one could write a history of a character without imagining them.
Can you tell us more about your charity, Gardens for The Gambia?
I visited The Gambia in West Africa when I was researching my novel on slavery, A Respectable Trade. While I was there I met a Gambian school teacher and together we have worked to put fresh-water wells into primary schools in The Gambia, a very dry and very poor country. The project has been so successful that we have now done almost 200 wells, and we are now setting up beehive co-operatives and we teach pottery-making, gardening, and batik workshops. In fact, we are the biggest well-digging charity in The Gambia and have recently completed a big project with Rotary International. If anyone would like to join with me in this wonderful work they can donate online at www.philippagregory.com.
Is there one historical figure who has particularly surprised or affected you?
I think I was especially moved by the early life of Katherine of Aragon which is not generally known but which shows a young woman in extraordinary circumstances. More recently, the story of Elizabeth Woodville who was an English commoner and rose to be one of the most glamorous and successful queens of England was a wonderful story to research.
Do you follow the same process for research and writing or does it change from book to book? Where did you write The Lady of the Rivers?
I use the same process for all my books. I visit significant sites, I talk to specialist historians and museum curators, I read and read and read, and when I have completed about four months of research I start to write, and then rewrite, while continuing to read. The whole process takes about 18 months. I work wherever in the world I happen to be, and I often travel with a box of research notes!
Are you planning to write more about the Plantagenet line, or will you shift focus to a different family or century?
I am going to write three more books at least on the Plantagenets, as I think they are a fascinating family.
Show More